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A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn....

It's gonna get harder before it gets easier. But it will get better, you just gotta make it through the hard stuff first.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

3 weeks in.

Time flies. Past weekend marked 3 weeks since OD 100, 3 weeks since last run, and 3 weeks into trying to build a different body structure. It was also a WS100 weekend, and I spent 6 times on that course - 3 finishes, 1 camp, 1 crewing and 1 spectating. While I can live without getting into the lottery (anymore), I am still thrilled every year when this race comes up. Yes, there are more beautiful courses, more difficult races and simply better places, but you can't take away the history and the hype. So, Larry and I spent numerous moments checking into our computer (between other things we had done that weekend, of course) to follow front runners, some friends, and general excitement. In the end I summed up my moments of zen as follows:
- AJW finishing top 10 for 7th time in a row! Man rocks!
- top 10 men being so freakin' close to each other, in fact, top 15!
- top 10 women being even crazier! The incident with a bear, Kami and Nikki finishing practically together, while displaying a real competitiveness and sportsmanship at the same time
- Meghan A. crashing the 50+ record and getting top 10, yet again!
- Bryon Powell of irunfar.com fame - what a sandbagger and a waffler! For a good stretch of 8 months he was trying to decide whether or not he is running it, and he had a PR! Thanks to Meghan for Twitting too!
- Scotty Mills (a SD100 RD), a man of 60, running 22 hrs - holly cow!
- Amy Sproston and Pam Smith edging into top 10 gals - I have a soft spot for Oregonians!

So, putting nerdy stuff behind, we are moving on with our lives. Which as of last Thursday is officially childless! And I kind of like it. Now, don't you dare scold me for saying that - ever since I had my first kid at a cute age of 21, I lived abroad, with no family support, and besides going away for a race weekend, I don't have my "me" time, or "sweet couple" time for that matter, for any extended period of time. And I surely do feel I need it. So, now that's Stephen is away for 5 weeks in Oregon (3 weeks in a wilderness camp, and 2 weeks with dad), and Harrison is with his mom till mid-July, I can stop hurrying home to cook dinners, while I CAN buy only health-nut stuff at the supermarket, eat greens, exercise twice a day if I want to (imagine what shape I would have been if I could do it daily? was my question as I exited the gym on that very first childless night, for the second time that day), not feel guilty about having massage clients every night after work, sit on a couch and watch mindless show, cuddle up with my honey - and give him undivided attention. Apparently, trying to figure out who to spend those few moments I am actually not doing anything at home - Stephen or Larry - put huge mental weight on me, and the release was much needed. I love them both, but it's hard to merge families, indeed.

Huge props go to Larry last 2 weeks! The man jumped on the wagon of taking it to a high level after a month break since his last race (PCT 50 mid-May), and went full steam on! Every single thing I put on his calendar gets done! I have to say I am purely impressed. He also cut out simple sugars, mocha's, and even downsized all the other stuff I dropped a few months before! It is so much easier when both of us are on the same boat on what to eat in the house. And so much more fun to train together too!

Speaking of training, it's coming along, and I am getting adjusted to it all. I don't see any change in a "number game", a.k.a. scale - stuck at that 2 lbs below original weight - but I begin to see definition. My trainers say it is the way it's supposed to be. I am not overly concerned quite yet, I just work. It does seem to be slow for a progress, but then again, I have a long way to keep making it happen. Back to Bikram yoga too, and it had been such a great experience with every class! I feel stronger in postures, and wonder if the weight training helps, and if no serious running makes me less stiff.

Speaking of running - I ran! Yes, I did! On Sunday we went to River Place trail, a.k.a. Staircase I wrote before about, the best, most beautiful, most difficult trail in Austin I am sad to have not discovered last year. What a bear! Larry was to run, and I planned to powerhike. But earlier that week I tried a little shuffle on a treadmill, 10 minutes, and on Saturday I tried some more on a road loop after my weight training, so as we set out, I gingerly jogged a bit, only flats at first, then picked it up some, and after turn-around went full-out eyeballs screaming - the only thing I did was made sure I place weight on the left leg on the downhills, kind of lightly hopping off right. And I was flying! At least it felt like it, and the exhilaration was above and beyond what I had expected. Apparently, I missed running. Apparently, I love trail running. Apparently, I am back.

Just in time. This Friday we are off to Hardrock 100 camp! Marking, playing in high mountains, sweeping first 15M on race day, crewing and potentially pacing a bit, if it works out. My sweetie ordered me a Hoka so I can protect my fragile bones - I will give full report and surely hope it will help me hold those bones together, because there is no way I am sitting this one out!

p.s. June 30th - was measured up today. 14.7%, baby! 5% in 5 weeks! Feels much better now, otherwise was loosing focus:)Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity; they seem more afraid of life than of death.James F. Byrnes

Yup, those numbers. Best to do a combo of measuring and weighing. Only way to chart progress. Gaining lean muscle weighs so much more than lost fat.At least you're staying in shape while recovering. You've come far and are so strong.

Great marriages are the result of two mature, grown up people – both of whom have full, satisfying lives – cooperating with each other to get their needs met. In this kind of differentiated relationship, each partner compliments the other, but doesn’t complete them.

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“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” - e. e. Cummings

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." M. Scott Peck

Life is not the way it's supposed to be, it's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference. Virginia Satir

"It is not that my identity is running. But I need running to keep figuring out what my identity is."